The apostle Paul spoke of the dismal state the Church would be in “if Christ has not been raised,” saying, “then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). However, we are not only a people united in Baptism to the death of Jesus. “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom. 6:6). This is true since “indeed Christ has been raised” (1 Cor. 15:20), and in Baptism, so are we. Christ Is Risen Indeed. Therefore, we who live “no longer live for [ourselves] but for him who for [our] sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:15). Grateful that our abbreviation among the LCMS districts is NOW, raising up servant leaders to live for the risen Christ is a task we find immediately before us, “now.”
A. Raising Up and Equipping Leaders A.1. NOW Leadership Initiative (NOW LI) Our Leadership Initiative (NOW LI) began in 2021 to invite ministries across the district to identify servant leadership characteristics and behaviors, naming them in people and saying, “I see in you,” so that those individuals are encouraged to step into new roles of leadership. Bible studies, accompanying podcasts, and videos provide resources for congregations to engage in NOW LI.
A.2. Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) We are now well into the next phase of Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI). Our YLI effort studied church workers across the
district, finding that there were three key behaviors exhibited by trusted adults in their lives that made a significant impact on their choice to enter a church work vocation. First, the adult showed up non-judgment ally and got to know them. Second, that trusted adult saw something in them. Third, that trusted adult found creative ways to say yes to that youth’s ideas for serving in the church. Our YLI is all about encouraging and tracking these key behaviors throughout our ministries: (1) know the youth, (2) name the gift, and (3) find the next yes.
A.3. Invest School Leadership Invest is a leadership development process in our school ministries that prepares educators for administrative levels of leadership in school organizations. Administrators identify teachers and staff members with the potential to be servant leaders at the administrative level and begin pouring into them as mentors through the district Invest program. Invest offers cohort-based curriculum specifically targeted to school leadership. This also becomes an avenue for colloquy conversations for non-roster ed teachers and opens a pathway to a formal church work vocation.
A.4. Mission Training Center (MTC) Lay leaders in congregations have need for training and equipping too. The long history of lay training in the district led to the establishment of Mission Training Center (MTC). MTC is an online training opportunity that offers courses and web in ars in worship planning, devotional leading, community outreach, Christian doctrine, spiritual care, and much more. Once operated in partnership with Concordia University, Portland, the district currently partners with the California-Nevada-Hawaii and Pacific Southwest Districts to offer MTC through Concordia University, Irvine. Districts across the Synod access and utilize this valuable lay training resource.
to invite the leadership of believers from all ethnicities.
D. Supporting LCMS Pastoral Formation In light of the continual challenge to provide pastors for our congregations (we face vacancy rates of 25–30 percent, which is 10–15 percent higher than the Synod average) and in keeping with 2023 Res. 6-02A, “To Encourage Proper Pastoral Formation through Our Synod’s Seminaries,” our district has invested in the distance education pastoral formation programs of our Synod seminaries. Even as we continue to send men to residential study at our Synod seminaries, we have made a commitment to fund tuition grants for students entering Center for Hispanic Studies, Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, Specific Ministry Pastor, and Cross-Cultural Ministry Center because we recognize that the congregations utilizing these avenues to provide for pastoral ministry are often the congregations least in position to afford calling a full-time pastor to fill that need. We have found these distance avenues for pastoral formation to be a tremendous blessing for the district and for our Synod.
E. Summary These are simply a few of our initiatives. As all LCMS districts do, we are continually seeking to resource and support our congregations, schools, and church workers. We have 240 congregations, 22 elementary schools, 4 high schools, and 85 early childhood programs across the district, which includes four states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska) and a church in Hong Kong. With the largest geographic reach of any LCMS district, and being the fifth most ministries, we have a variety of challenges and endless opportunities as we carry the good news that Christ is risen; He is risen indeed. Michael T. Von Behren, President
A.5. Set Apart to Serve These four prior key leadership emphases have enabled us very naturally to engage in fulfilling 2023 Res. 6-01, “To Affirm and Strengthen Set Apart to Serve in Word and Action.” Our leadership initiatives—NOW LI, YLI, Invest, and MTC—provide a broad funnel from which people engage Set Apart to Serve resources and consider at a deeper level a life of service in vocational church work.
B. District Grant Programs The district offers Catalyst grants, Faith in Community grants, and Community Care grants to encourage new ministries—and new bridges into our communities—through congregations. Ministry entities are given the opportunity to request time-limited grants that are designed to help them start something new in their scope of influence.
C. All Peoples Commission The district recognizes that the Gospel is for all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages whom we will one day join with as redeemed believers in Jesus from all over the world around the throne of God (Rev. 7:9). We also realize, as 2023 Res. 11-03A, “To Love and Disciple Peoples of All Ethnicities, Languages, and Skin Colors,” well noted, that our nation is increasingly home to people from all regions of the world, giving us a unique opportunity to engage the mission of the Church right here. We view this as an opportunity to learn from and invest in leaders from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who share our confession of Jesus Christ as LCMS Lutheran Christians. Our district’s All Peoples Commission is encouraging ministries to engage in Gospel-focused ministry to partner with, to invest in, and